Right the wrongs that hurt post office

My husband was a mail carrier for 32 years, retiring in 2000. He passed away June 27. He used to tell me every so often of the postal funds being raided for other branches of government. They never were paid back, so postage rates had to increase.

I still receive mailings from the National Association of Letter Carriers, and the one I received today is important enough to be shared. There is talk in the papers and on the news of closing offices and going to a five-day week. The talk of the five-day workweek has been around for maybe 15 years. It hasn’t happened yet, but then again these times are different.

In the letter I received today, it states that in 2006, the Bush Congress passed legislation requiring the post office to “prefund” 75 years of retiree health benefits in a 10-year period. Had this legislation not passed, the Postal Service would not have lost $20 billion from 2007 to 2010. It would have actually made a profit of over $700 million dollars! It goes on to state that no company or governmental agency in the world is required to prefund 75 years of health benefits.

Also, in the past 30 years, due to miscalculations in payments to the retirement system, the Postal Service overpaid by nearly $75 billion and has demanded these overpayments back. If these monies were returned, the post office would not be facing some of the challenges it has today. Congress needs to act and support HR 1351, the USPS Pension Obligation Recalculation and Restoration Act of 2011. Contact your representative to support this act.

Linda Kimsey

Streamwood